The Savior's Story
by Surflilu246
Summary: It's been a few years since the Digidestined have fought in the digiworld. However, when a new evil appears, Gennai deems it incapable of being beaten, especially when it's making new threats. The digiport is sealed, but can the tides turn 11 years later?
1. The Closed Portal

*Summary* It's been a few, peaceful years since the digidestined have fought in the digiworld. However, when a new evil appears and makes unforeseen threats, Gennai deems it incapable of being beaten. To keep the digidestined and their children safe, he seals the digiports, thus creating a grim future for the digital world. However, can the tides turn 7 years later, once the new children grow up? Perhaps, if their parent's adventures didn't have to remain a secret. Knowing some of the digidestined, though, odds are at least one of their children has a knack for getting in trouble.

X

"Does it really have to be this way, Gennai?" A dark figure of a man asked. He kicked a stone with his foot and shoved his hands deep inside his pockets.

"I'm afraid so, Taichi." The old man responded, regret in his voice. "It appears not even you can defeat the evil this time."

"You barely let us try.." The man responded, his words as gentle as the wind that carried them, yet stronger than anything he'd said before. Taichi clenched his fist and pushed his foot down on top of the tiny stone.

Gennai grunted. "If you have not learned by now that my wisdom surpasses yours, I don't know what to tell you." The usual humor the old man used was gone. It seemed as if nothing remained of him.

The bluntness of his tone took Taichi a big by surprise, he thought there'd be a little more of an explanation, but if he knew one thing by now, it was that Gennai never explained anything thoroughly. Although his head kept pounding, 'don't let it be this way', Taichi knew Gennai was right. He mustered up all the strength he had before asking one final question. "Can I say goodbye to Agumon?" He sighed after he said it, as if he knew by asking for farewell was giving into the enemy.

"I'm afraid not." was Gennai's simple reply. "If the enemy finds out you're here, I doubt you'll make it home. You have your family now- they need to be protected as well, Taichi, you know that just as well as I do."

The man gathered a pile of dirt together with his feet, remaining silent for a moment. In his heart, he knew Gennai was right. Gently, he pushed the mound over the single stone and patted it down with his shoe. "So this is really it?"

Gennai didn't answer Taichi's question. Instead, he turned around and held his hand in the air. An opening appeared in the darkness behind him. "Here's the portal." Taichi took a step forward, but Gennai turned around before he could go any farther. "Thank you for everything you've done for us. I'm so sorry. I didn't think it would end like this."

Taichi sighed and walked past the man, regretting each and every step he took towards the future no one wanted. With one foot through the portal, he turned around and took one last look at Gennai. "I didn't think you were the kind to give up."

Gennai remained quiet. The only way Taichi could tell his words had an effect on him was by the single crease that appeared in his forehead. For a second, the man regretted what he'd said, but he held his composure. Without another word, Taichi looked back towards the portal and pulled his other, heavy foot through the hole. In a single night, he'd managed to abandon everything he'd worked for years to protect.

As the light from the portal disappeared, Taichi's home world lit up. As the man stepped out of his computer screen, his living room became illuminated in a bright white light. However, all was silent in the apartment. He ran a cold, shaky hand through his hair, half expecting it to be longer than it was; for the trip to the digital world reminded him of his younger days. Taichi had wanted the new, short cut to bring out his maturity; however, even the most mature section of his brain could not handle what had just happened. Without picking his feet up, Taichi made his way to the sofa on the other side of the living room. He collapsed on the soft, comforting surface and buried his head in his hands. How was he going to sort this out? More importantly, how was he going to explain this to the others? For he had been the only one Gennai had called to the digital world that night, partly to keep everyone out of danger, and partly because Gennai believed if he could convince the most stubborn group member to cooperate, everyone else would follow. Still, Taichi was torn about how easily he'd let the digital world slip away. Had he been selfish with his decision? Taichi lifted his head up and leaned back farther on the couch. Admittedly, when he'd decided to give up his, rather, the group's protection to the digital world, he'd only had one person in mind.

The man got up and slowly crept to a door down the hallway. As quietly as he could, he pushed it open and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. In the room, there weren't many things. After all, how many pieces of furniture did a baby really need? There was a dresser, a changing table, a standing lamp, and a crib, of course, that stood at the far end of the room. Next to the crib was a night light that let off a simple pink glow, one that the baby refused to sleep without. As Taichi inched closer to the crib, a face became recognizable in the small amount of light. A smile slid its way onto Taichi's grim face as he saw the girl- she was innocent, unharmed, unaffected by the huge decision her father had just made. Well, she was affected- protected, if you will, by Taichi's choice. She just didn't know it yet, and hopefully, Taichi thought to himself, she would never have to.

The man leaned over the crib and pushed a thin wisp of brown hair out of the baby's face. "Manami.." he whispered, his eyes wrinkling with affection as her name left his lips. Carefully, Taichi leaned down and kissed her forehead, ever-so-gently, so she would not wake.

"What are you doing in here?" A familiar voice asked. Surprised, Taichi turned around.

"I couldn't sleep." was his simple response. Although it wasn't a complete lie, Taichi knew his wife would be able to see through any lie he could possibly make up about why he hadn't been in bed.

The woman pushed a clump of thick, auburn hair behind her ear and raised her right eyebrow high. "What's wrong?"

Taichi couldn't look at her- he settled for an area slightly above her shoulder. "We need to talk, Sora."

As the two made their way to the kitchen, Taichi tried to sort his thoughts out. What was he going to say to her? It was certainly going to be a lose-lose conversation. First, she'd be shocked. Second, she'd be upset she hadn't been included in the decision. Third, well… he wasn't really sure how his wife would take the news after that. However, he was certainly about to find out. The man pulled a chair out from under the table, beckoning his wife to sit down. Only after stalling with many other questions such as: Would you like a drink? Some food? More comfortable clothes?, did Taichi sit down himself. In the time it'd taken them to get settled in the kitchen, he hadn't been able to think of a single good explanation. Perhaps it'd be best to be completely honest about it; after all, Sora _was_ his wife.

"Love," he began, as he often began many sentences, "The digital world, the evil.."

"What about it?" Sora asked, clearly worrying about the uncertainty in his voice.

Taichi sighed and felt his lungs grow heavy. There was no turning back now, although he deeply wished he had different news. "Gennai decided this evil was too much for us."

Creases appeared on the woman's forehead as her eyebrows shot up high. Her mouth drooped open gently, although her eyes were fully alert. "What do you mean, 'was'?"

"He's stopped the fight." Taichi responded, setting his eyes on the same spot above Sora's shoulder. For a man who was supposedly full of courage, why was it so hard to find it now, especially when facing the love of his life?

Sora didn't speak. Her lip gently began to quiver- it would have gone unnoticed by a stranger. Quietly, she pushed her chair back, stood up, and walked towards one of the full length windows that surrounded the table. It felt cool and comforting against her skin as she leaned on it, worriedly staring into the night sky. "Why didn't you let me have a say in this?" she coldly asked.

Taichi's heart started beating faster than it ever had before. The tone of her voice pierced him like a knife. "Gennai thought you would have made the same decision as me, especially after what happened." He got up from the table himself and began to walk over towards her. However, when he reached his hand out to touch her arm, Sora backed away. "Please don't do this." Taichi continued. "I.. I had no choice, Gennai really already had his mind made up. How were we supposed to protect-"

"Manami?" Sora interrupted, her voice pleading this time. "Why couldn't we just have protected all of them? We've done it before."

"Sora, you know me." Taichi responded, trying to sound assertive. "Out of all of us, you know I'd be the first person to go out there with Agumon and fight. But we have a child now… the others, _they_ have children now. No digimon's ever threatened to kill _our_ children before."

Sora slit her eyes and moved her feet so she was facing the man directly. "They've come after our neighbors, Taichi. They've come after our parents, our siblings! Yet we've never backed down. When it was Hikari, you didn't back down!"

"Don't bring Hikari into this!" Taichi retorted, raising his voice just loud enough to yell and not wake the baby. He flung his arms out and put his face near hers. "What did you want me to do? Did you want me to even _try_ to defy Gennai? Did you want me to force Manami to grow up hiding, in danger? Is that really what you would have wanted, Sora!?"

Hurt, Sora dropped her defense. The look in her eyes made Taichi instantly regret the way he'd spoken to her. "No.." She muttered, holding tears back. Her voice shook as she tried to explain herself. "What kind of mother do you think I am? I'm a great mother, Taichi, but I'm also one hell of a friend. Aren't you worried about Agumon?"

"Of course I'm worried about Agumon.." Taichi said, letting the thought settle in- for the first time- that his digimon was probably in danger.

Sora leaned back up against the window. "We have to go back.."

This was the point in the conversation that Taichi had been fearing the most. The words he spoke were barely audible. "We can't… the digiport's already been sealed.."

Sora turned her head to look at him; had he really just said that? The creases in her forehead deepend and her eyes glistened with fresh tears. Without another word, the woman stood up straight, and with raging thoughts, walked into the bedroom and closed the door.

Taichi stood by himself in the kitchen. That certainly didn't go as smoothly as he'd hoped. Feeling defeated, he walked himself over to where Sora had been standing next to the window. He leaned himself up against it in order to see what Sora had been so earnestly staring at. However, there was nothing outside except for the lights of the city and the stars in the sky. How could something be so simple, so beautiful, in such a terrible, terrible time?

Taichi walked back into the living room and sat back down on the same couch he had before. Frustrated, he put his head in his hands. He felt like time had gone backwards- like he'd made no progress at all. However, as he sat there, he was totally engulfed in darkness. The light of the computer wasn't there to comfort him- the instant access to the place he knew so well was gone. Sora was right, he could no longer help his friends. He wouldn't even be able to know if anything bad had happened to them. Was it really for the best though? It had to be.. especially after that what had happened to them..

_ "Taichi!" Sora called desperately._

_ The man spun around in his office chair to face his open door. For a second, he was frozen, not sure what had happened, but once he heard an enormous bang, he knew something was wrong. Taichi jumped out of his chair, left his work, and dashed down the hallway towards Sora's cries. _

_ "I'm coming!" He called, trying to protect her with the comfort of his voice. However, once he reached the woman, he couldn't believe what he saw. _

_ A digimon, tall in structure, yet skinny, stood above his wife. It's arms were long and gruesome looking, with claws on the ends of both of them. It's legs were similar, although slightly thicker, and it's feet were long and heavy. The monster's face, however, was the most horrible part. It's eyes were bright red and gleaming with the need for death. The nose was hidden by the shadows' covering its face, masked in the darkness. Finally, the mouth was large and open, revealing many teeth. The digivice Taichi wore honorably on his belt loop was beeping like crazy, alerting Taichi to the obvious problem they had. _

_ "What is that thing!" He called to no one in particular. "Get away!"_

_ Sora tried to run towards him, however, she couldn't get away fast enough; her pregnancy wore her down. She cried out desperately as the monster grabbed her from behind, throwing her to the floor. Sora clenched her stomach in pain before being pinned to the ground with one of the monster's claws. He wrapped it around her neck, increasing the pressure until her skin began to change color. Taichi dove at her, desperately trying to get the digimon away. As he ran at it, though, the monster used it's free arm to send Taichi flying across the room. The man yelled as he was pushed away from Sora, her baby, from everything. _

_ "No!" He called, just before his head smashed against the computer on the far side of the living room. As his vision went blurry and the room around him began to turn black, all he could mutter was "Agumon… help…"_

_ The man struggled to stay conscious, he needed to help Sora; her anxious attempts at screaming were killing him. However, it proved to be impossible. His head eventually fell, knocking against the keyboard. As his body went limp, it shifted though, hitting the enter button on the keyboard. Once that happened, the computer turned bright, sending beams of light out into the apartment. Taichi slowly raised his head to try and process what was going on, but more importantly, to try and protect the love of his life._

_ "Sora…" He whispered._

_ "Don't worry Taichi" A strong voice boomed from behind him. _

_ With his last bit of strength, Taichi turned his head. A digimon he knew well was in the process of morphing out of the screen. "Metalgreymon.." He smiled, realizing everything would be alright._

_ With that, the digimon flew at the monster, knocking everything off shelves, out of book cases, and onto the floor. "Leave her alone!" Metalgreymon called right before pushing his claw through the digimon's black body. With one final moan, followed by a scream from Sora, the dark digimon disintegrated into thin air._

Really, the only reason Taichi, Sora, and Manami were alive was because Metalgreymon saved them that day. Was it really right, pushing their savior away? Was it better for there to be no threat at all? Just when Taichi was about to let himself utterly fall apart, he heard a door creak open. The sound made his heart jump and his chest tighten, and he hoped to god that Sora wouldn't come out more upset than she went in. In a matter of seconds, his wife appeared before him. Silently, she sat down on the couch next to him and wrapped her arms around his body. Both of them could tell the other had been crying- the puffy eyes gave it away for Sora, and the unsteady rate at which Taichi's chest was rising up and down did it for him. However, once Taichi felt the comfortable, loving embrace, he allowed himself to calm down. Perhaps somehow, someway, everything would turn out alright in the end.

X

Alright, I was really, really excited to start this story, I couldn't wait any longer. Sorry the first chapter was so Tai and Sora centric, more people are on the way! Every character is going to be in this. So, let me know what you guys think so far! Hopefully you all liked it. Until next chapter..

*surflilu.


	2. Eleven Years Later

**ELEVEN YEARS LATER**

**X**

"_Tentomon, Tentomon, no!" Koushiro reached two skinny hands out towards his digimon partner in a feeble attempt to save him. However, he couldn't break through the barrier that separated them. Helplessly, Koushiro watched on as his friend perished at the hands of evil, at the evil the digidestined could have defeated had they not given up._

_ "Tentomon!" Koushiro called again, desperately banging against the barrier. "Get up! Get up!"_

"Ah!" Koushiro sat up in bed and threw his eyes open. A dream, it had only been a dream. The man ripped the blanket off of his shaking body to let his legs air off- the comforter had made his body sweat. As Koushiro took a few deep breaths to calm down, he looked to the right of him at the empty side of the bed. It would have been nice to have someone there to comfort him in these kinds of situations, although now, it was impossible.

The man swung his legs off of his bed and let them rest on the cool wooden ground. Softly, he yawned and let his head sink- partly from tiredness, partly from emptiness. Really, without the digital world, his life had lost a lot of meaning. One thing kept him going, though. The man lifted a picture up from his bedside table and held it out in front of him, letting his eyes adjust to the dark. With one clammy finger, he traced the outline of a little girl in the hands of her mother. He stood, admittedly, a bit awkward next to them, not really sure what to do in his new role as a father. Koushiro smiled and placed the photo back down on the table; at least it'd given him some comfort.

Koushiro began to lay back down when he heard a cry come from down the hall. As if every tired emotion in his body had gotten sucked from him, the man jumped up and dashed out of his room, eager to see what the problem was.

His apartment was tiny; it didn't take long to reach the purple door on the far side of the hall. After all, the far side of the hallway was only about twenty feet away.

"Chikao?" Koushiro asked, gently tapping on the door. Each tap pushed the door open farther and let more light from a single night light escape. The man only received more cries in response.

"What's the matter?" He asked again, gently pushing the door open further as if he was unsure whether to enter the room or not. When he still got no response, he asked again.

"Chikao?" This time though, he opened the door completely and stepped inside.

"Daddy?" A tiny, frightened voice asked. Each letter seemed to float on a separate breath- a separate up and down motion of her chest.

Koushiro walked over and sat on the foot of his daughter's bed. "I'm here, what's the matter?" Gently, he placed his hand on one of the girl's tiny, shaking legs and patted it through the blanket.

"I had a bad dream." The girl pouted while rubbing her eyes with the corner of the blanket.

Koushiro sighed, relieved it wasn't something more serious. "Chikao.. You know your dreams can't hurt you, right? Do you want to tell me what it was about?"

The little girl threw the blanket off and crawled over to where her father sat. She scooted onto his leg and rested her head on his arm. "It was about you, Daddy."

"About me?" Koushiro questioned.

"Yeah.." The girl trailed off. "It was about you, and, and all these monsters."

Koushiro's eyebrows rose "Monsters? What kind of monsters?"

"I don't know daddy, but they could talk! And there were good ones and bad ones."

"Oh yeah?" The man responded, smiling at the girl. "Sounds like a pretty cool dream to me, not a scary one!"

"Well.." Chikao went on, "The monsters were cool until a big one came!" The little girl threw her hands in the air to emphasize the largeness of the creature.

"That big, huh?" Koushiro rubbed the girls head, messing up her hair.

Chikao crinkled her nose at him as she went on again. "It was HUGE! Enormous! ...Prodigious!" Koushiro smiled at the use of his favorite word as he listened to his daughter go on.

However, the girl's face grew grim. "And then.. it attacked you daddy. I thought you were going to get hurt but then a good monster came and rescued you!"

Koushiro smiled. "Well, I'm glad it saved me, but if it ended happy why were you crying?"

The little girl pressed her face into her father's shoulder. "I was there with you, daddy, but there was no good monster to save me."

"Well I will always be here to protect you, you know that." Koushiro said, holding his daughter close.

"Yeah, I know." Chikao grinned. "You and Tentomon!"

"…W..who?" Koushiro raised his head and met the little girls eyes. Had he heard her correctly, or had his drive to go back to the digiworld caused his mind to play a cruel trick on him?

Chikao sensed the unevenness in her father's breath and gave him a questioning look. "Tentomon.." She began, staring up at him. "That was the good monsters name."

Koushiro quickly got up off the bed. "Chikao, it's late. You should get back to sleep, alright?"

"Okay.." The girl responded a little hesitantly. "Are you mad at me?"

Koushiro froze, feeling guilty for his sudden withdrawal from their conversation. "No, not at all! I promise you," he said, easing up his look. "Just don't worry about that nightmare, I'm sure it was nothing."

"Okay daddy, goodnight." The girl yawned as she rested her head back down on her pillow.

Koushiro stood in the doorway and watched her for a minute- just to make sure she safely fell back asleep. After he'd heard the first light snore, though, he made his way back to his bedroom, all the while not being able to stop the continuous stream of questions from entering his mind. How could his daughter _possibly_ have had a dream involving Tentomon? She knew nothing about him; the digital world had been successfully kept out of the young girl's life. It surely wasn't a coincidence, either.

Once Koushiro got to his room, he made his way towards the closet and threw the doors open. In the dark, the man pushed through his own clothes, followed by old woman's clothes, and reached to the very last depths. Once he felt what he was looking for, he grabbed it, pulled it out, and walked over towards his bed. He pulled the chain on the lamp on his bedside table and placed the box under the light. It was extremely dusty. Koushiro ran one finger over the box and was able to acquire a thick layer of soot on his hand.

"Let's hope this still works.." The man uttered aloud as he ran his fingernail through the tape that kept the package closed. Anxiously, he opened the box and saw something he hadn't seen in years: his digivice. In awe, Koushiro picked it up and gripped it in his hand. The memories flooded back into his mind, causing a single tear to form in the corner of his left eye. Carefully, he ran his free hand over the top, wiping away the dust and reliving the adventures that had happened so many years ago. Tentomon: his partner, his friend. Oh, how he missed him. Koushiro placed the digivice on his bed and lifted up the next thing in the box: his tag. Koushiro held it in front of his face and examined it. The crest wasn't in it; it had disappeared shortly after the gate to the digital world had been sealed, but it still held the same value in his heart. How had something so important to his life- to saving both worlds- ended up in a box in the back of his closet? It was as if the digital world, the importance of the chosen children, nothing ever existed. Koushiro placed the tag next to his digivice on the bed and reached in the box for the final item- something he'd been longing to see for many years now.

Koushiro had to use both hands to pull it out. Carefully, as if he was afraid of breaking it, he set it down on his bed. After brushed off the dust, Koushiro could make out the pineapple logo on the top of the rectangular item. It still had its bright yellow color, and it begged to be opened. Koushiro heard the familiar click as he lifted the top; it was the same click he'd heard every time he'd needed his beloved laptop, whether it was to look up a new digimon, or to get his friends out of a dangerous situation. Nervously, Koushiro clicked the power button, not sure if the laptop would turn on or not. However, the man felt his heart flutter when the screen became illuminated. Once the programs were up and running, he simply stared at the screen- unsure of what to do next. Excitedly, he began clicking through old files, reading old emails, reliving the days of when they were the "chosen children". However, he quickly remembered why he'd taken the computer out in the first place- Chikao's dream.

How he was supposed to find information, he wasn't sure. If only he could email Gennai, all his problems would be solved. However, with the block in place, it was as if the digital world didn't exist. No contact could be made. Koushiro's heart sank once he realized he would probably never be able to find out why Tentomon had been in his daughter's dream. One thing he knew for sure though was that it meant something.

With one last glimmer of hope, Koushiro checked his inbox. There were emails from years ago- urgent messages from Gennai, new programs, information on digimon. However, there was nothing new. The hope that anything explaining his daughters dream could be in his old computer was destroyed. There was absolutely nothing. Perhaps he could call someone and talk it out tomorrow- it would help ease his mind, but for now, he needed sleep. Koushiro quickly placed all the items back in the box and returned it to the closet. With one final look, he said goodbye to his memories and fell back asleep.

In the morning, however, the man had an idea. He simply needed to figure out who to call. No matter who he contacted, though, each person had their own pros and cons. If he called Taichi, his friend would probably beat himself up about being the cause for all the problems. Therefore, he couldn't call Sora either- even though she'd probably be a great choice. Perhaps Mimi? No, the long distance would cost too much. Yamato was simply a lost cause, and Takeru and Hikari would surely worry much more than they would have too. He didn't feel comfortable enough to call Daisuke, Miyako, Ken, or Iori either. That left Jyou.

"Jyou!" Koushiro said outloud. Of course, he'd be a great person to talk to.

Quickly, but quietly so he wouldn't wake his sleeping daughter, Koushiro dashed to the phone and dialed Jyou's number. Hopefully he'd be home. With his job, he never was anymore. The ring went on and on, and with each one, Koushiro became more discouraged.

"Hello?" A voice finally asked from the other line.

"Jyou!" Koushiro exclaimed, nearly jumping up in the air. Of course Jyou had picked up- Jyou was always reliable.

"K-koushiro?" A shocked voice replied. "My god, it's been such a long time!"

"Indeed it has." Koushiro responded. "Too long. Are you busy?"

"No, I'm not." Jyou responded, still a bit exasperated. "The hospital doesn't need me today. What's the matter?"

"Well.." Koushiro began. "You might want to come over and hear."

Jyou paused. "Why?"

Koushiro gulped, still trying to decide whether to make a big deal out of what happened. However, he knew he needed closure. In one quick breath, he said, "Because it's about the digital world."

"The.. the digital world?" Jyou stuttered. "What about it? I mean.. I mean, my god.. I'll be over right away!"

Somewhat satisfied, Koushiro put the phone back down on the holster. Just then, he heard tiny footsteps pattering about above him.

"Chikao?" He called.

The little girl came running down the steps. She was still in her pajamas and held onto a stuffed rabbit she'd had for ages. Her log red hair was swept into a messy braid- it was the best Koushiro could do- and her stomach was empty and grumbling.

"Would you like breakfast?" The man asked.

Chikao nodded and ran over to the table. She struggled to lift herself onto the chair, but eventually, she made it. The little girl slapped her hands down on the table and smiled at her father. "Can I have eggs?"

"Sure." Koushiro smiled as he took out two white eggs from the fridge. As he turned on the stove, he remembered the days when he'd had to make his breakfast on steaming rocks.

"Can you mix cheese in with them?" Chikao asked quietly. "That's what Mommy always used to do."

Koushiro jolted his head up and turned around to look at the girl. Her eyes were large and pleading, yet so innocent. Perhaps she had not realized what she'd said?

"Y-yeah." The man struggled to say. He couldn't let his emotions out in front of his daughter. "Of course."

A few minutes later, Chikao was happily munching away on slightly burnt eggs when the doorbell rang. Anxiously, Koushiro walked to the door.

"Koushiro!" Jyou exclaimed once the door had been opened.

"Jyou.." The man responded, smiling. "Please, come in!"

Koushiro watched as his friend walked into the kitchen and greeted girl quickly shyed away. He hadn't changed much. He was still tall, slender, and professional looking. His glasses sat low on his nose and his hair, well, it was still that odd color none of the digidestined could figure out.

"Hows the job going?" Koushiro asked, trying to break the ice as Jyou sat down on the sofa.

The man sighed. "It's good- fantastic, actually. It keeps me busy, though."

"I'm sure." Koushiro responded. "I can't imagine being a surgeon."

"Yeah.." Jyou trailed off, looking at his feet. "But, that's beside the point. What's this about the digital world?"

"Shh!" Koushiro exclaimed, placing a finger on his lips. Slyly, he pointed at his daughter who was playing with her breakfast.

"Oh, sorry." Jyou rubbed the back of his head.

"Listen," Koushiro quietly began, "Last night, Chikao had a dream. She said I was in it, and she was in it, but there were monsters." When Jyou nodded, the man went on. "She said bad monsters were attacking us, but there was a good, protective monster."

"Sounds exactly like the digital world.." Jyou muttered so Chikao wouldn't hear.

"Wait," Koushiro interrupted, "here's the real kicker. Do you know what Chikao said the good monster's name was?"

"What?" Jyou asked.

"Tentomon."

"What?!" Jyou said a little too loudly.

Koushiro glanced over at his daughter, but luckily, she hadn't heard him. He quickly turned back and looked at Jyou seriously.

"It can't be a coincidence, am I right?"

"I'd have to say you're right, but that's insane!" Jyou concluded, "How could she possibly have known? How could Tentomon have worked his way into your daughter's dream?"

"You think someone sent him?" Koushiro asked.

Jyou leaned back. "I think so. Chikao couldn't have made him up on her own. I think he was there for a reason. Who sent him though, I have no idea."

"I think we need to find out." Koushiro muttered.

Jyou nodded in agreement. "Do you think we should call the others?"

Koushiro thought for a second. "I don't know.. I don't know how everyone would react to this. I mean, the gates were closed for our safety and all.."

"But no one wants them closed." Jyou replied. "I'll bet everyone would want to figure this out."

"Even if it meant endangering their kids?" Koushiro asked. "I know I would never want to put Chikao in any danger."

"Well that part I couldn't tell you," Jyou said, looking down again, "But there's a chance this could be something big. Danger might have found us already."

Koushiro looked at his friend for a moment. Butterflies rose in his stomach. For once, he was getting excited. Did he really want to get involved in this? Although his mind told him not to do it, every other emotion in his body was pulling him back to the digital world. "Alright." Koushiro finally said, forming a fist with his hand and placing it on his chest. A smile erupted on his face- one that hadn't been there in years. "Let's do it."

"I'm glad." Jyou responded, taking out his phone. "I have to admit, even I've missed acting like this."

"I know what you mean," Koushiro said, picking up his own phone on the end table next to the sofa. "Chikao, why don't you go upstairs and play for a bit, alright? Daddy has to make some important phone calls."

"Okay!" The little girl responded as she jumped down off the chair.

"You're lucky." Jyou said blatantly as he watched the girl run up the stairs.

"Ah, I wouldn't really call my situation lucky.." Koushiro said, trying to cheer Jyou up a bit.

The man was taken aback. How could he possibly have called Koushiro lucky? Well, that didn't matter now. "Who are you calling?" Jyou asked, trying to change the topic, and trying to get rid of the guilty-nauseous feeling in his stomach.

"Yamato." Koushiro responded as he placed the phone to his ear.

"Don't bother." Jyou sighed. "It's his court date today."

"It's today?!" Koushiro exclaimed, quickly slamming the phone back down. "I completely forgot!"

"Yeah.. I can't believe this is happening to him." Jyou said sadly.

Koushiro lowered his head as well. "I know, that damn ex wife of his ruined him."

Jyou quickly perked up again though, and tried to get Koushiro to do the same. "Listen, we can meet tomorrow with everyone when Yamato's available. Well, with everyone who wants to get involved. I can't tell you who'll show, but it's worth a shot."

Koushiro nodded and smiled himself. "Alright. You call Hikari and Takeru first, I'll handle Taichi. Let's not tell them exactly what it's about first though. I'd rather them hear in person."

Jyou quickly agreed and began dialing. Koushiro did as well. They supposed tomorrow, everything would fall into place. Who would agree to help them though, that was the question.

X

"Takeru! Can you get the phone?" Hikari asked while trying to finish making lunches.

"Got it!" The man called from the other room. "Takaishi residence." He said into the receiver.

"Takeru? It's Jyou!" The voice on the other line said.

"Jyou?" Takeru asked, "What's the matter?"

"Listen, Takeru, I know it's been a while and before you think I'm crazy, er, well before me and Koushiro are both crazy I need to let you know-"

"Know what?" Takeru asked, interrupting him slightly.

Jyou inhaled deeply. "Takeru, Koushiro and I have reason to believe something's wrong and we need everyone to meet at his house tomorrow morning."

"A meeting? What's wrong?" Takeru breathed into the phone. Hikari shot a look over at him, wondering if he'd really said what she though he said. When her husband nodded at her, she quickly ushered their two children out of the room before coming back into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

Takeru raised his forefinger in the air, telling her to hold on while Jyou finished what he was saying. As Hikari waited, she heard the doorbell ring and left the kitchen at once to get it. The woman wiped her peanut-butter covered fingers on her skirt before smiling and opening the door.

"Taichi!" She exclaimed. "How nice of you to come!"

The woman's brother walked in the room and looked around. "Ah, I couldn't miss my two favorite nephews go off to their first day of middle school, now could I?"

"Uncle Taichi!" Shouted two young voices as his nephews ran up and tackled him.

"Hey Ryo, hey Ryu!" Taichi said, trying to get up. He looked at the two boys, one was slightly taller than the other, but otherwise, they looked exactly the same from the dirty blond hair to the long, lanky legs. "God, you guys are getting big. How old are you now? 17?"

"11, Uncle Taichi." Once of them said, rolling his eyes and laughing.

"Ah, 11's a great year, you know that?" Taichi winked at them before turning to his sister who looked slightly distressed. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Meet me in the kitchen, I'll tell you after I get the boys out of the apartment."

As he was told, the man walked into the kitchen and saw Takeru just as he hung up the phone. "Hey Taichi.." He muttered.

Taichi raised an eyebrow at the sight of his brother-in-law. "Alright Takeru, what is going on?"

"Jyou hasn't called you yet?" Takeru asked, assuming he knew what Taichi was talking about.

"No, why would he call?" Taichi asked skeptically.

"Koushiro?"

"No.." Taichi repeated. "Why does everyone look like the world is about to explode?"

"Koushiro said it's necessary for everyone to meet at his house tomorrow, after everyone's in school, of course." Takeru replied.

"What's so bad about that?" Taichi asked, still a bit confused.

Takeru tilted his head a bit. "Well Taichi, he's invited all the digidestined, and last time we all met in one place was when you told us.. well.."

"Don't remind me." Taichi grunted, turning to face the wall. He put his head in his hands and thought for a moment. "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

Taichi turned around and looked at him seriously. "Has he called Sora yet?"

Takeru let his own head fall. "If not, then he will be soon."

"I'd.. I'd better be going then.." Taichi stuttered as he tried to make his way to the door.

"Leaving so soon?" asked Hikari once he met her in the doorway.

"Ah yeah.." Taichi trailed off. The guilt from so long ago was beginning to make its way back up his throat and into his brain.

"Let him go, Hikari." Takeru said solemnly from behind him. "We need to talk."

"Oh.. okay.. I suppose we'll see you later, Taichi." The woman flashed him a nervous smile before turning on her heels and walking towards her husband.

As Taichi left their apartment and walked down onto the streets of Odaiba, he wondered what in the world Koushiro could possibly be worried about. He'd solved their problems eleven years ago, hadn't he? As he thought more about it, his walking pace quickly picked up. The nervous voice that sat low in his gut was shouting at him to get home, and fast.

X

"Alright Koushiro, don't you worry, Taichi and I will be there tomorrow." Sora said brightly into the phone as she sat down on her bed. "Would you like me to bring food or anything?" The woman pressed the phone close to her ear, partly to hear Koushiro better, and partly to block out her daughter's constant stream of questions.

"Manami, please be quiet for a second, I'm on the phone!" Sora whispered before bringing the phone back to her mouth. "I'm sorry Koushiro, could you repeat that?"

"Mom! Mom!" Manami continued. "What are these?" The girl took out a pair of goggles from the drawer she was going through.

"Mana, put those back!" Sora ordered her before tuning back into the conversation. However, the woman's eyes shot opened once she realized what drawer her daughter was going through. "Mana! Don't-" She began, but she was too late.

Her daughter was examining a small device that she pulled out from the very bottom of Taichi's sock drawer. "What.. what's this Mom?" The girl asked as she held up her father's digivice.

Sora gasped. "Kou..Koushiro, I've got to go." Before the man could give her a reply, Sora slammed the phone back on the holder and ran over to where her daughter was knelt over the drawer. "Don't go through your fathers things!" She exclaimed as she tried to take the digivice from Manami's grip.

The girl instantly became defensive. "Mom, I just want to see- what?"

The instant Sora touched the digivice, it lit up and began beeping insanely. Instantly, both mother and daughter dropped the device and watched it fall to the floor. It hit the hard wood, and the beeping stopped.

"Now I know that wasn't a cellphone." Manami said, trying to lighten the air in the room.

Sora struggled to find a reasonable explanation, however, it was hard, considering she didn't have any idea about what had just happened. "It's something from your father's work. You shouldn't be playing with it, it could be dangerous!"

Manami looked at her skeptically, as if she was waiting for the truth.

When the woman realized her warning hadn't worked, she resorted to a different excuse. "It's time for school, Mana." Sora said in a monotonic voice.

"But Mo-"

"Now."

As her daughter trudged sadly out of the room, Sora picked the device up off the floor and put it on the dresser. She stared at it as if she was trying to decide whether to leave it there or inspect it herself. Eventually, the woman decided it was best to leave it until Taichi got home. 'Only your father, Mana, would leave something this important laying around in his sock drawer.'

With that final thought, Sora flicked the light off in her bedroom and walked out into the hall after her daughter.

X

Cliffhanger!! So, what could Chikao's dream possibly be about? The beeping digivice? What's the deal with Yamato? And why is Jyou so depressed? Find out.. in the next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it; I spent a lot of time on this part. Reviews would be awesome. It always brings a smile to my face when I see that little number change under story stats. ^_^

So, until next time..

*surflilu.


	3. The Guessing Game

**Terribly sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I've been so busy, it's not even funny. Before I begin though, I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews! For those who were sketched by the changes in character, don't fret! It will all play out in the end. I pinky swear. But once again, thanks to everyone for the feedback. Now, onto the fic!**

Yamato Ishida trudged down the steps of the large stone building with a grimace on his face. If it weren't for the chilling morning wind drying his eyes, he would have been crying. The man felt a hand come down on his shoulder. Without looking back, he heard a deep voice say "Sorry Yamato, we tried."

Without a word, Yamato walked away. The infinite amount of steps finally ended and his feet hit the damp pavement. Apparently, it had stormed while he had been in court- both inside the building, and out. A familiar scent blew by him as he felt someone brush his shoulder on their way by. He scowled at the woman who walked by. Actually, he had the urge to slap her. He held it back, however. How was he supposed to explain what had happened to his kids? Really, this is the one thing he knew, since childhood, that he never wanted to happen.

Reluctantly, Yamato finished his march down the steps and walked himself to his car. Tears swelled in his eyes the entire way home, however, he managed to hold them back until he walked in the door of his tiny apartment. He looked around. The front room was dark and messy. Pots were dirty and were beginning to pile over the top of the sink. Laundry that needed to be done took over the kitchen table. The carpet clearly hadn't been vacuumed in months and dust stood strong on every surface the eye could see. Truly, the house matched his mood. Yamato trudged into his small bedroom and struggled to close the door. He pushed against it with all his might until it shut, not bothering to lean down to move the pile of clothes that were blocking its way. Once closed, Yamato walked in a daze over towards his bed. On the left side of it stood a night stand. There was a single lamp on it without a lamp shade. It wasn't needed, really, considering the man tried to use as little electricity as possible. The window always sufficed. On the other side, though, was a guitar stand, and in that guitar stand stood Yamato's most prized possession. His guitar, blue and shining, stood tall and straight in all its glory. Usually, the boy would walk over and pick it up the moment he saw it but now, he simply walked over towards his bed and collapsed on the hard mattress.

Yamato tried to shut his eyes, but a red flash kept appearing in the dark of his eyelid. Gently, he allowed his eyes to open and saw the light of the answering machine flashing on and off. Yamato questioned whether he should even check the message- it was probably just a lawyer or some angry relative- ex-relative, for that matter. However, the man managed to pull himself off the bed and over towards the machine. He heavily pressed down on a single button, letting a loud voice ring through the speaker.

"_You have one new message."_

Yamato braced himself. The soothing voice of a woman quickly turned into the exasperated one of a man- a man who sounded all too familiar.

"_Yamato, it's Jyou. It's been awhile since I've heard from you. I hope everything's alright. Listen, me and Koushiro need you to meet us at his house tomorrow. It's extremely important, we need you here.."_

Yamato listened to the message. He was honestly surprised when he heard Jyou request his attendance at Koushiro's. He decided in a split second he wouldn't be going- that is, until he heard the last line.

"_As our friend."_

Instinctively, the man grabbed at his chest. However, what he was searching for wasn't there. Yamato opened his palm to reveal nothing- the emptiest bit of nothing he could have ever seen. The emptiness carried through to his heart and tugged his entire body back down towards his bed. Effortlessly, he collapsed again, and let himself free into a land of sorrowful dreams.

X

Taichi awoke the next morning the way he loved to. The sun came through the blinds in stripes, the house was quiet, and his beautiful wife was wrapped in his arms. The covers were slightly off the man's shoulders, which was odd- normally, he liked to steal the blankets during the night. Taichi gently lifted the covers off him and got out of bed. Quietly, he leaned back down though to tuck his wife back in. Sora murmured something the man couldn't understand, but the creases that appeared between her clenched eyes told him that she was in the middle of a dream and didn't want to be disturbed. With a smirk on his face, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

Taichi looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was messy as it was every morning, his skin was tan, yet dewy, and his eyes were nearly glued shut. The man turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water over his face so he'd be able to see more clearly. When he looked back into the mirror, he gave himself a reassuring smile, flashed himself a thumbs up and clucked his tongue. In one swift movement, Taichi turned around and slipped out of his boxers while turning on the water in the shower. It was going to be an interesting morning, he was sure, and he figured he should probably look his best.

Sora, on the other hand, didn't want to get out of bed. This was quite odd for her. Usually, she was the first one to shower so she'd have hot water- Taichi always used it all. Today, she felt like sleeping in. More importantly, she felt like sleeping in would be a better idea than going to Koushiro's to meet about who knows what. However, she eventually willed her body to wake up so she, in turn, could wake her daughter.

As the water went off in the bathroom and the curtain slid open, Sora walked out the bedroom door and into the hallway. Past a modest guestroom was where Manami slept. The woman walked in and saw her daughter laying partly off the bed. Her arm stretched down the side of the mattress and her right foot hung off the side, gently kicking at the wooden floor. Sora leaned against the doorway and crossed her arms. She couldn't help but smirk at the girl- she was the exact replica of her father.

"Time to get up!" Sora chirped from where she stood. The young girl groaned as she pulled herself completely onto the bed and rolled onto her other side.

"I don't want to." She replied without opening her eyes.

"Come on," Sora responded, walking over to open the blinds. Once she did, rays of light shot into the pitch black room. "Don't you want to see everyone today?"

"I want to sleep." Manami said with a monotone voice, stuffing her face into the pillow. "I don't even know why you're friends with so many people. You're parents."

Sora raised an eyebrow as she tried to figure out what her daughter meant. She decided it was better not to ask, so she simply walked back into the hall, calling for her daughter to be ready in forty-five minutes.

X

When the doorbell rang, Koushiro jumped up to open it. A look of worry appeared on his face, for some reason. His daughter, however, retreated to the rear end of the kitchen.

"Don't you want to come say hello, Chikao?" Koushiro asked as he walked down the front hall.

"No." She replied blatantly. "I don't remember most of them.."

Koushiro's expression softened. "Ah, don't be shy. I assure you, they're all quite nice."

However, as the man reached the door, his daughter remained near the corner, pretending to busy herself by counting the tiles on the floor.

"Koushiro, it's so good to see you!" A woman exclaimed as she pulled the red-haired man into a tight hug. "How have you been?"

"Great, Hikari!" Koushiro responded happily. When she finally let him go, he turned to the man standing with her. "Takeru.." He smiled, extending his arm. However, the blonde ignored his professional gesture and pulled him into a friendly hug as well.

Caught up in the reunion, Koushiro didn't notice the two boys standing behind their parents until Takeru pointed them out.

"I'm not sure if you remember them-" Takeru began, only to be cut off.

"Of course I do!" Koushiro smiled. "Ryo, Ryu, how are you guys?"

"Good." They mumbled simultaneously as they pushed past their parents inside.

"Boys, that's not polite!" Hikari called after them, but they were already too far down the hallway to hear.

Koushiro smirked. "Ah, don't worry about it. They must've smelled the breakfast I made."

"Probably." Hikari agreed, her voice trailing off. "But now tell us, what is it you've called us here about?"

Quickly, Koushiro ushered them inside and shut the door.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Ryo and Ryu had discovered Chikao.

"What's your name?" They kept asking her, but they could barely understand her whispered response.

"You're really short." Ryu blatantly said.

Ryo continued for him, "Are you in school yet?"

When the young girl saw her father walk back into the kitchen, she ran towards him and hid behind his leg, gripping it with her tiny fingers.

"What's the matter?" He asked her, as Hikari shot her boys a warning glance. Quickly, the two quieted down and sat themselves at the kitchen table. "Why don't you show Ryo and Ryu your room, Chikao?" Her father continued, "I'm sure they'd love to see it."

The boy's ears perked up. "Aw, we don't want to see some-" Their complaint was cut off by another glare, this time from their father.

"Come on you two, go see." Takeru ordered more than he suggested.

In defeat, the two boys rose from the table and waited for the young girl to lead them upstairs. Koushrio gave her a slight nudge, and quietly, she walked ahead of them up the stairs. Ryu shot one last helpless look towards his parents, but it went unacknowledged.

When the three were out of ear-shot, Hikari spoke up. "I remember when Chikao was a baby. It seems like it was yesterday- she was such a happy little girl, always smiling and chatting away."

"I know." Koushiro responded as he opened the refrigerator to retrieve a large jug of lemonade. "You know, she really hasn't been the same since Satomi passed away."

Hikari and Takeru glanced at each other.

"I don't know how you manage." Takeru stated simply. He wasn't quite sure what else to say, actually. Even though the tragic event had occurred years ago, he was sure it was still fresh in Koushiro's mind. He couldn't blame him though, something like that doesn't go away easily.

"Yeah.." was Koushiro's only response. He placed the jug down on the counter and stared into it for a minute. He watched the ice cubes move around in the yellow-colored liquid as he let himself slip back into his most hated memory.

_The day had ended like any other. Chikao was tucked in bed, dinner was put away, and the house was neatly cleaned. All Koushiro waited for now was for his wife to return from work. It was Tuesday, and she always took on extra hours on Tuesdays. _

_ The kitchen was silent except for the sound of the ticking clock that hung above the refrigerator. On the refrigerator itself hung a single sheet of paper- a piece of 'art work' that Chikao had drawn for her mother. Koushiro smiled to himself. The young girl was so excited to give it to her, but she couldn't keep her eyes open by the time her mother had left the office. _

_ The clock read 8:30 p.m. In another hour or so, Satomi would return, and Koushiro would give her the drawing, as promised. What the drawing was exactly, Koushiro didn't know. Chikao had called it some kind of animal, but it looked more like a space ship to him. It didn't matter, he supposed. He knew Satomi would love it anyway. His wife was like that._

_ Satomi was one of the kindest people he'd ever met. In fact, they'd met through one of her acts of kindness. When he'd forgotten his wallet at the coffee shop on the corner of 51__st__ and 7__th__ one day, she tracked him down just so she could return it. When Koushiro met her though, he decided that couldn't be their only encounter. He invited her out to brunch to thank her, and that ended up resulting in another date. Turns out, they both had a love for computers. Satomi was quite knowledgeable, and quite charming. Honestly, she made Koushiro feel like a little boy on the first day of school- nervous to mess up, yet excited about everything. They dated for about a year before they married, and Koushiro had decided everything was perfect. _

_ At 9:45, the man looked out the front window. His wife hadn't returned yet. Her parking spot was empty, and all the man could see were heavy raindrops pounding down on the concrete ground. A flash of lightening lit up the sky and outlined all the cars in the lot. At 10:00, Koushiro began to get worried. He'd made countless calls to Satomi's cell phone, but none of them were answered. Each time, he got the machine, but the repetitiveness of her soothing voice didn't comfort him. The man paced the kitchen; each time as he turned, he saw the drawing out of the corner of his eye. 'Where are you Satomi, I promised Chikao I'd give it to you.'_

_ When the man glanced out the window around 10:30, he still saw nothing but an empty parking spot. His nerves were getting the best of him- every creak in the house made him jump. He tapped his fingers against the cold counter as he listened to the rain drops pounding away on the windows. Every second grew slower and slower, each one filling the man with more anxiety, until finally, the phone rang. Koushiro jolted from the unexpected noise. He walked towards it, and…_

"Koushiro? Koushiro?"

The man snapped out of his daydream and jolted his head up to face Hikari. "Oh, sorry. I zoned out for a second."

"It's alright." She smiled, "But the doorbell rang, would you like me to get it?"

"Sure." Koushiro replied. He took a deep breath as he steadied himself against the counter.

Hikari shot one last worried glance at him before she turned to get the door. It was going to be a longer day than anyone had thought.

X

A few minutes later, the man sat on the sofa in between two friends he hadn't seen in quite some time. Taichi sat to the right of him, and Daisuke sat to the left of him. The old gang had been reunited- somewhat. One was still missing.

"Come on Koushiro, what is it you want to tell us? I can't wait for Yamato to get here."

Koushiro managed to smile a bit. "Taichi, gain some patience, really. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"Are you sure he's going to show? As much as I'd love to talk, I'm not made of money." A voice called from a phone that sat on the end-table near Jyou.

Koushiro thought for a moment. Perhaps it would be best to begin his story now, and then just tell Yamato once- if- he came.

"Yeah, Koushiro," Taichi continued, "None of us have seen Yamato in quite some time…"

The room grew solemn. Everyone seemed to look at their feet at once. It was as if everyone had suddenly reliezed they weren't the group they once were- they weren't the friends they once were. Koushiro sighed to himself as he looked up.

"I'm sure he'll be here, but I'll tell you now- just so Mimi won't have to spend a fortune."

"Thank you Koushiro!" Mimi chirped from the other line. "The American dollar is so bad today, you know?"

Koushiro then turned to the children who sat in the kitchen munching on snacks. "Why don't you guys go upstairs and hang out for awhile?"

All of them turned towards him. Manami looked just like her parents. Her hair resembled her fathers, it was brown and messy. However, she had the ruby eyes of her mother. Ryo and Ryu, her cousins, just looked like they wanted to get into trouble. Chikao, his sweet Chikao, remained at the far end of the table, not making an attempt to socialize. That didn't surprise him though, it wasn't unlike her. Denji, Daisuke's son, had his mouth clearly stuffed with food, while Iori's little girl, Emi, looked at him with disgust. Miyako and Ken's two children, Natsuki and Raiden, stayed close to each other. The girl and boy, respectively, resembled each other very much, although Natsuki had thick, black hair, while Raiden had hair of a whispy, purple-ish color.

"You heard him," Taichi said not just to Manami, but all the children, "go play upstairs for a bit."

Awkwardly, they all passed by the older group and ascended up the stairs. Their parents remained silent until they were sure they heard the door to Chikao's room shut completely. Once the reassuring creak was heard, Koushiro began.

"Well, here goes I suppose. Last night.."

X

"So, who are all of you?" Ryo asked.

"You don't remember anyone?" Manami asked, quite confused. "We've met them all before." She went on, pointing to the entire group.

"We definitely haven't." Ryu replied, stepping up from behind his brother. "I would've remembered."

"But we did meet!" Denji exclaimed, a piece of noodle falling out from between his teeth. "You're Ryu, and you're Ryo."

"I'd believe you if you knew which one was which." Ryo said skeptically. "I'm Ryo, he's Ryu." He continued, correcting the boy. Denji merely crossed his hands over his chest and scowled.

"We've all met each other, obviously." Manami cut in. "Our parents are friends. Some of us are just too little to remember."

"We're the same age as you!" the twins exclaimed at once.

"Stop yelling!" Chikao's little voice called. "My room's not that big.."

"You talked?" Ryo asked, surprised.

"Oh, leave her alone." Denji scoffed.

"I didn't say anything!" Ryo replied, his voice a little angrier than it should have sounded.

"Stop being so immature, guys." Manami scolded, trying to sound old herself. She turned towards Denji. "And what are _you_ staring at?"

Embarrassed, the boy quickly moved his gaze away as he slurped up another noodle. "Nothing.." He muttered.

"Why don't we all just be quiet if we can't get along?" Emi suggested as she coolly pushed her hair behind her ears.

"We don't have to be quiet, we just have to stop yelling. It's making some of us upset." Natsuki continued, pointing towards her little brother. Raiden's eyes were squinted as if he were trying to stop his eyes from watering.

Ryu looked at the little boy for a second, as if he were trying to decide whether to apologize or not. However, it was quite clear that apologizing was not one of the things the boy was good at. "Raiden?" Ryu asked.

The boy simply nodded his head.

"Why's your hair purple?"

X

Downstairs, the conversation wasn't going much better.

"What do you mean Tentomon was in her dream?" Daisuke asked as he leaned forward on the couch. This was one conversation he was truly interested in.

"I just explained it, Daisuke." Koushiro said, beginning to get frustrated. "Chikao knows about Tentomon. Either she found out about him in some way, or it's a sign of something. I'm just not sure which theory is right."

"Either of them could be." Takeru guessed. "I still can't believe that though. It's crazy! How could she have found anything out? Everything was hidden. It's also quite impossible that anything crossed the barrier."

"The barrier's only physical you know." Ken bluntly stated. "I believe that if something's mentally strong enough to pass through, it can. Maybe Tentomon's bond to Koushiro was so strong that it allowed him to at least partially break though."

With that, Taichi broke his silence. "That's damn ridiculous. If a bond could break through the barrier I'd be right beside Agumon right now."

The room grew quiet. No one dared to speak up next. Sora gently squeezed her husband's hand; it was a feeble attempt at keeping him calm. Or, perhaps, it was a feeble attempt to keep him calm while she put in her own two cents.

"I agree with Ken." Sora nervously stated. She quickly glanced at her husband, but only long enough to see the shocked look form on his face. "I think the digital world has fallen into such a state that the digimon are doing anything they can to get help. Tentomon's smart. Perhaps Ken is right. The barrier _is_ only physical, and the digital world always seems to throw us mental curveballs. I think Tentomon somehow was able to show himself to Chikao."

The only person who dared show any response to Sora's statement was Ken. He smiled- only lightly- and tried to hide it by bending his head forward so his long hair covered his face. Taichi, if he noticed, didn't seem to care. Instead, he let his hand fall limp in Sora's grasp as he leaned back on the sofa.

After a few painful moments of silence, Koushiro decided to speak up once again. "Well, now that we have our theory, what do we do about it?"

Everyone thought for a second, although admittedly, no one could come up with any reasonable ideas. Just as an inhale was heard and someone was about to speak, a knock was heard on the door. It was quiet, yet urgent, and everyone knew who it was. The room became tense once again.

"I suppose I'll get it.." Koushiro stuttered as he lifted himself from his seat. He was walking at a normal pace, but time seemed to move slowly. His feet dragged against the wooden floor like cinder blocks on concrete. As he reached the front of the apartment, he tried to think of a proper greeting, but he couldn't come up with one in time. The door was pushed open and a blonde man stood at the entrance. He looked tired, to say the least, but his stature remained strong. He towered over Koushiro like he always had and the look on his face was nothing less than serious.

"Ah.. Yamato.." Was all the red haired man could say. "You're..late."

"Like I haven't got my reasons." The blonde replied. "Am I the last?"

"Er.. yes." Koushiro stated, glancing back into the living room, as if to assure himself of an obvious answer.

"Sorry." Was the attempted apology the man got.

Koushiro opened the door wider to allow Yamato inside. As he walked in, he felt everyone's stares piercing into him. He knew what they were all wondering, but he wasn't about to satisfy their curiosity. Once he got into the living room, he realized there were no seats left, so he merely leaned up against the wall.

"Here," Sora said as she let go of Taichi's hand and stood up. "Take my seat, I've been sitting all day."

Yamato considered it for a second, but shook his head and declined when he realized who he'd have to sit next to. He shot Taichi a cold glance, only to receive one in return. Sora easily picked up on the uneasiness and sat back down.

"Sorry." She said quickly, for something she really didn't have to apologize for. "Just thought I'd be nice. I'm sure you had a long day yesterday."

"Oh, you don't even know." Yamato coldly stated.

Taichi opened his mouth as if he were going to say something to him. However, the mature side of him came out; he decided to stay quiet rather than instigate a fight. Sora squeezed his hand again but kept her eyes on Yamato. Daring to ask the question on everyone's mind, Sora continued. "What.. what happened?"

Yamato's face clenched, partly from anger, and partly from the shock that she'd actually asked that question. "It's none of your **damn** business."

Taichi let go of his wife's hand and clenched his fist on his lap. "Don't you dare talk to her like that."

"I'll say whatever I damn well please." Yamato retorted, staring icily into the brunette's eyes. He held his glance for a second to make sure he relayed his anger before looking at Sora once again. In her eyes, though, he didn't see anger or hurt like he'd expected. Instead, he saw a look of genuine concern. Yamato dropped his defense and turned to stare at the wall. As he traced designs with his eyes in the paint, he stated simply, "She has Shinjiro, I have Toshio. Now Koushiro, would you mind telling me why I'm here?"

Taichi quickly looked down at his feet. He would give Yamato a break today. Koushiro stuttered and cleared his throat as he prepared himself to speak.

X

**Alright, it took.. er.. a few months.. but it's done! Finally! I apologize guys, I've been at camp without electricity all summer, so it really has been impossible to work on this. I hope you all enjoyed though. Reviews would be greatly appreciated, as always. **

**Until next chapter,**

***surflilu.**


	4. Stolen

Mimi Tachikawa carefully put the phone back down on the kitchen counter. She stood for awhile with both her hands holding her up as they pressed against the tile of the surface. She traced designs with the squares as she thought to herself. Sometimes, she felt safe being so far from the other digidestined. Her family was an ocean away from this supposed  
'danger'. However, at the same time, she felt little, insignificant, and even a little vulnerable. It wasn't like she had anyone to really worry about though. Her parents were off doing their own things- visiting her often of course- but living, still, for themselves.

Mimi walked over towards the window and pushed the curtains to the side, letting a large gleam of morning light shine through the glass. There wasn't much of a view outside. Other gray buildings could be seen across the way and cars were closely packed in the streets below. It was a typical New York City morning. As interesting as it was, though, Mimi couldn't help but feel sick of it. Every day had the same routine: waking up, getting ready, going to work, coming home, and sleeping- although there was the occasional "girls night out" thrown in here and there. It really wasn't the life Mimi had always dreamed of.

Her job was alright, though. Mimi Tachikawa was a well-respected teacher at a culinary school a few blocks away from her apartment. The day wasn't too long. She held classes from ten o'clock to three o'clock and she had the rest of the day to herself. The woman glanced up at the clock on her tan wall. It read 9:13. It was about time for her to get ready and leave. If it wasn't for the time difference between the States and Japan, she wouldn't have been able to take the phone call from her friends. Oh well. She supposed it was best to push the conversation out of her mind for the time being. She had a job to uphold and students to teach. Although she had thought about the digital world and Palmon every day, her thoughts could wait five more hours. They had waited so many years already.

X

It was another lonely day at home as Koushiro prepared dinner. His friends had recently left. Yamato stormed out before the majority of the group while Hikari and Sora stayed till the end, offering to help clean. Mimi had to hang up after the story had been explained three times- it was too expensive to call Japan from New York.

"Okay," Chikao began, "Who was the lady on the phone again?"

"Mimi." Koushiro chuckled. "Are you still quizzing yourself?"

"Yeah…" Chikao blushed. "I want to remember all of their names. They were nice. Well, most of them."

Koushiro stopped chopping his vegetable and glanced up at her. "What do you mean most of them?"

"One of the twins called me short." The girl mumbled under her breath. She felt her face grow hot as she confessed this, so she cast her eyes downward, making her face nearly hidden to her father.

"Hey.." Koushiro began as he set the knife down. He walked over and pulled up a chair next to the girl. "Don't listen to anything mean, Chikao." He put his hand on her small back and rubbed gently back and forth. "One day, I bet you'll be taller than them!"

Chikao laughed as she lifted her head. "Dad," she said, as if he had truly believed his words, "I would never want to be _that_ tall!"

X

Yamato pushed the door open to his apartment and scoffed. Was this really all he had to look forward to every time he came home? More importantly, though, would this really be all a child would have to look forward to? Would Toshio have to do his homework next to one of the few shade-less lamps on a desk covered in dust? Would his son feel as alone as he had when he was growing up?

Yamato held his head in his hands and collapsed down onto an open section of the couch. His son was supposed to arrive before dinner- and knowing his ex-wife, he'd be late- but the apartment needed to be clean by then. Toshio couldn't be living in the shit-hole Yamato'd created for himself. No. The man stood up and looked around. Clothes were thrown about everywhere and dust seemed to layer every surface. Something had to be done. Perhaps, if his apartment was clean, then he'd feel slightly better. Yamato picked up a pile of clothes from the couch and walked them over to the laundry room. It was small, yet sufficient, yet also barely visited by its owner. Yamato dumped every article of clothing into the machine, and then proceeded to pick out the red pieces. He didn't have time to sort them into lights, darks, and all that, but there was no way he was going to walk around wearing pink.

Yamato repeated this process until the machine was packed full with dirty clothes, and since he didn't own bleach or fabric softener, he gently pressed the 'on' button, hoping that the settings were right. However, there was no time to waste. After the man saw that the water was successfully running, he shut the machine and walked over to a small closet. Yamato grabbed the vacuum cleaner that was inside and began pushing it around the carpets of his home. Everything had to be perfect.

X

"Sora, can I ask you something?" Taichi rolled over to face his wife.

"What?" The woman responded, laying down the book she was reading.

"Do you really believe what Ken said?" Taichi asked, letting his head rest on his hand.

Sora closed her book and placed it on the bedside table. She thought for a moment before she responded. "I mean, he has some good points, Taichi." She paused and looked at her husband to make sure the rest of her response wouldn't be ignored. When she saw that he was listening intently, she continued. "It's rare that we understand things about the digital world. I doubt we will ever understand why Chikao saw Tentomon in her dream, but she couldn't have just made him up. No one can make something up like that. She either found out about him, which is extremely unlikely, or he found a way to get to her."

"Are you sure Koushiro didn't accidentally leave something laying around? His digivice? His laptop?" Taichi asked again.

Sora smirked. "Koushiro's smarter than that. He doesn't leave his digivices lying around in places like, say, a sock drawer."

"Hey!" Taichi sat up and looked at his wife. "My digivice is well hidden in there!"

Sora reached over and ruffled Taichi's hair. "Not as well as you'd like to think. Manami found it. She wouldn't stop asking questions about it."

Taichi raised his eyebrows. "Wait, Manami found it? Why didn't you tell me?"

Sora smirked once again as she laid back down and rested her head on her pillow. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I had the full intention to yell at you, but after the meeting today, I didn't." The woman paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling, completely in thought. After a few moments, she turned back to her husband, who was still looking intently at her. "It's funny though.." Sora began.

"What is?" Taichi interrupted.

Sora scooted over and rested her head on Taichi's chest. It rose steadily up and down. He wrapped one arm around her as she grasped his free hand with her own. "Manami found your digivice, yet still would never know who Agumon or Biyomon are. Chikao has never found anything of Koushiro's, and she was still able to see Tentomon."

"I guess.." Taichi began, his voice fading.

Sora glanced up at him. His face was stern; creases lined his forehead. "What's wrong?"

The man clenched his fists as his chest began to rise and fall at a quicker pace. "They've been alone for so long.."

"No." Sora quickly cut in, placing a single finger over Taichi's quivering lips. "Don't do this. We can't change what's been done."

"I know.." Taichi struggled to say, "But it shouldn't be like this.."

"Taichi," Sora began, looking straight into his watery brown orbs, "You had to make a choice. You were brave for doing what you did- perhaps Mana wouldn't be here.. perhaps.. none of us would be here if the portal was still open.."

"But I decided for all of us. Maybe I decided for Mana, maybe for everyone else's children, but we abandoned our best friends. After all they did to save our world, we left them. They put their lives on the line and.. and.."

"and you weren't willing to put Mana's on the line." Sora finished for him. "Now listen to me," Sora changed the subject, glancing at the clock, "It's late. I want you to get some sleep, alright? We'll figure everything out in the morning."

"Alright.." Taichi sighed, obviously completely unhappy with the end of their conversation. "I just.. I wish I could help him… Agumon.."

"Trust me," Sora said as she turned off the light, "If I could, I'd be right beside Biyomon right now, fighting whatever's out there.."

X

As Yamato finished laying the sheets on the once-empty bed, he heard the doorbell ring. Quickly, he stopped what he was doing and left the tiny bedroom. Before, it had been a holding space for old junk he didn't know what to do with. However, after he cleaned it off, he found the small bed and dresser that were hidden under everything. Yamato flicked off the lights as he walked towards the front door. With each step, the beating of his heart quickened, and he felt sweat begin to form on the back of his neck. Would his son want to stay here?

The man braced himself before opening the door. Quickly though, he grabbed the handle and pulled. Out in the hall stood a small boy- blond hair, blue eyes, with two suitcases in hand.

"Hey little man.." Yamato said lightly, his words floating out of his mouth and across the air. He'd planned this moment forever- what to do and what to say- yet now, he couldn't recall any of the 'fatherly' greetings he'd planned out in his head. "How.. how are you?"

Toshio looked up at his father and pushed some of the hair out of his face with a jolt of his head. "I'm tired I guess."

"Tired?" Yamato asked, expecting something more. "Are you hungry?"

"I guess a little." Toshio responded quietly, looking down at his stomach.

"Here," Yamato began as he reached towards his son's tiny suitcases, "let me grab these for you so you can come inside."

Without any effort, Yamato removed the bags from the little boy's grip. However as he stepped out into the hall to steady himself, he noticed a tall, lean woman standing near the wall. Suddenly, the look on his face became grim. He cocked his head to the side and slit his eyes, making sure not to let a single ounce of kindness come out in his voice.

"What are you doing here?"

The woman stepped forward, her high heels clicking with every step she took towards the man. "I came to make sure my son made it to this… living arrangement.. alright." She slit her eyes as well as she pushed a thick piece of blonde hair behind her ears.

"Our son." Yamato corrected her, letting his grip tighten around the two bags. "He's both of ours, and don't you dare think otherwise."

The woman crossed her slender arms. "Of course. But don't forget that a proper dad would never keep a child from his brother."

"Or from his wretched mother?" Yamato responded through clenched teeth. "You out of all people should know that I didn't want this to happen. YOU, on the other hand.." Yamato paused. He looked down at the little boy who stood in the doorway, wide eyed. He quietly drew in a breath of clammy air before he changed his words. "You, on the other hand, need to say your goodbyes and go."

After one last moment of tense, hateful eye contact, the woman silently leaned down and embraced her son. Yamato cringed at the sight of her blood red nails grasping the child's back. How could he ever have been so stupid as to marry that.. that.. cruel.. wretched.. wretched…

Yamato was snapped from his thoughts as the woman stood once again. "Don't worry, you'll see Mommy and your brother all the time." He heard her say.

"Right." Yamato said blatantly. "Why don't you go inside for a moment, Toshio, so Mommy and Daddy can have a word?"

The little boy took one last look at his mother before turning and walking through the doorway. After Yamato had watched him walk in, he turned to his ex-wife, prepared to speak once again. However, she beat him to it.

"He's been fed. I'm assuming you don't have any food on hand. Don't forget he's allergic to nuts, so when you go shopping, don't kill him. And don't think you've won."

"Won?" Yamato sneered. "You think I've won? Just you wait, I'll have them both, and the life I'll make for them will be ten times more than anything you could ever lie to them about from your fake, plastic lips."

"In this shit hole?" The woman laughed, throwing her arms out. "Look where you live! Look what you've dragged _your_ son into! If you truly cared about him, you would've let him stay with me. You never would have had the court intervene. I'm ashamed to say that my son lives with a failure."

Yamato let the bags in his hands fall to the floor as he punched the cold, steel wall. "**MY** son. My… son.. will never have to explain to his friends that the parent he lives with cheated on his spouse for a few hundred bucks and a dinner at some over-rated restaurant. My son will be able to say that his father is a good man, but unfortunately, will have to live with the fact that his mother is a cheating whore."

"Why I **never..**" The woman began, pointing her finger at Yamato inches from his face. However, her eyes veered to the side, over Yamato's left shoulder. When Yamato turned to see what had caught her attention, a bolt of guilt ran down his spine and into his gut. Two beady, wet eyes stared at the two as they fought in the hall.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Was all he could muster to say.

"Mommy's leaving now." The woman quickly answered, lowering her finger. "But don't worry, we'll see each other soon alright? Be a good boy."

"Yeah.." Toshio responded, wiping his eyes with the corner of his sleeve.

The woman then turned on her heels and began to march down the hall. However, before she was totally out of earshot, she turned around once more. "I'll get him back, Yamato. You'd better not mess up. I'll always be watching."

Yamato gave her one last menacing glance as she walked away. As the clanking of her heels on the floor became quieter and quieter, he leaned down and picked up the suitcases once again.

"Come on, Toshio." He said quietly as he shut the door. "I'll make you some dinner."

X

"Are you sure you don't want me to read to you?" Koushiro asked as he stood up off of his daughter's bed.

"I'm sure daddy." The little girl yawned as she made herself comfortable. "I'm really tired tonight, and I think I just want to sleep."

"Well alright." Koushiro replied as he shut off the light. "Keep the door open, right?"

"Right!" Chikao exclaimed as she pulled the blankets up to her chin. "But not too far open! I'm big, you know."

"I know." Koushiro laughed as he shut the door a few inches. "Is that alright?"

"Perfect!" Chikao smiled. "But you're forgetting something!"

"What's that?" Koushiro asked as he turned around in the doorway. He soon figured out the important part of the routine though, his daughter was sitting up in bed with her arms outstretched.

"You forgot to give me a hug!"

"Ah, of course!" Koushiro said, trying to sound as sorry as he possibly could. He walked back over towards the bed and embraced his little girl in his arms. "Goodnight Chikao, I love you."

Chikao squeezed him back and chirped, "I love you too daddy!"

With that, Koushiro stood straight and left the room. In an instant, he thought he heard snoring, but he couldn't be quite sure. However, after he reached the room, whatever sound there was had been completely drowned out. The man collapsed onto his bed, partly from tiredness, and partly because his day had been so confusing. He was more troubled than anything. It was his daughter who had seen a digimon- did that mean she was in some sort of danger? Also, it'd been so long since Koushiro let the terrible story of his wife slip into his head. His emotions were simply becoming too hard to control. The man grabbed the photo sitting on his nightstand and held it close to his face, close enough to examine the textures in the articles of clothing each person was wearing. He ran a shaky finger around the outline of the group, uniting them. Oh how he missed her..

_Koushiro walked towards the phone, hands shaking. He took a deep breath to steady the rising and falling of his chest, but it didn't seem to work. He grasped the phone hard before picking it up, forcing himself to believe that it was Satomi, calling to explain where she was. The rain pounded against the walls and the windows as Koushiro lightly placed the receiver against his ear. "Hello?"_

_ "Hello, Koushiro Izumi?" The voice on the other end of the line asked. It was a man; his voice was deep and sad. Instantly, Koushiro's heartbeat quickened._

_ "Yes.. that's me." He responded, regretfully. He could have said no, the number was wrong. He could have made the entire situation disappear- at least for a moment._

_ The voice on the other end became solemn. "I'm sorry.."_

Koushiro was ripped away from his thoughts by a shrill scream that came from down the hall.

"Chikao?" Koushiro called as he dropped the picture onto his bed. "Chikao?"

Instantly, the man jumped out of bed and flew out the door, his feet barely touching the floor with each stride he took. "Chikao!"

As he ran, the air began to feel thicker. Fog layered the air outside the door to Chikao's room, making it impossible to see inside. More dark fog spilled out from the crack between the door and the floor, causing Koushiro to cough hysterically. "Chik—ugh—CHIKAO!"

"Daddy!" he heard his little girl scream as he ripped open the door. Koushiro froze when he saw what stood before him- a large, demonic-looking creature. He was entirely black, except for purple eyes that were partially hidden by a hood, or hair- the man couldn't make it out. In his arms, it held the screaming child. She was thrashing around terribly, trying to break loose from his strong hold. However, she was getting nowhere. "Daddy!" she called again, "Help me!"

Koushiro struggled to breathe. He couldn't control his body- his eyes were wide and frozen on his angel, caught in the arms of this creature. He felt sweat beginning to soak through his clothes. He couldn't lose the last thing in the world he truly loved. He couldn't lose someone else. No.

The man bolted forward and jumped as high as he could, grabbing the little girls shaking hand. "Don't let go!" he called as he struggled to maintain his hold. With his free hand, he began to punch the giant creature repeatedly. "Let her go! Let her go!" He cried. However, it seemed to be useless. The monster started to rise off the ground and into the air.

"NO!" Koushiro called as he lost his connection to the floor. "You can't take her!" To his dismay, his cries were still ignored. The man let out a large grunt as he felt his grip beginning to slip. He was now several feet off the ground, and closer to the open window in the room. "STOP!"

Koushiro locked eyes with his little girl one last time before he finally lost hold of her. He fell to the ground, landing on his back. Above him, he saw the monster levitating out the window, Chikao still in hand. The only thing the man could hear were her cries for help as she squirmed around in the creature's big, black arms.

"CHIKAO!" He called, over and over again. "CHIKAO!"

X

"Taichi?" Sora said sleepily as she rolled over. "Wake up."

"Wh-what?" The man asked as he was shaken out of slumber. "What's the matter?"

"Do you smell that?" Sora asked, sitting up.

"I don't smell anything." Taichi responded as he reached to turn on the light. However, once the light from the bedside table spread to the rest of the room, he jolted up. "What is that?" He asked, swinging his legs out of bed. Briskly, he walked over to the door and leaned down. Sora too, got up to investigate.

The air felt thick as she walked over towards the door. She placed a single hand on her husband's back to steady herself as she leaned down. "Is that.. fog?" The woman asked, clearly confused. However, her question couldn't be answered. A large bang came from the hall, as if someone had dropped something heavy. Without thinking, Taichi threw open the door and ran into the hallway. He struggled to say something, but he didn't have time. Manami nearly knocked him over as she ran into their room.

"Close the door!" She called as she threw herself behind her mother.

"What? Manami what's going on!" Taichi demanded, staring at her, his eyes slit and questioning.

"DAD JUST CLOSE THE DOOR!" She screamed as she hid her face in Sora's shirt.  
"Taichi, what's going on?" Sora asked frantically as Taichi stepped out into the hall. "Who.. who is that?" Sora pointed towards Manami's open door, her finger beginning to shake.

The man took a few steps forward to investigate. Once he was entirely in the hall, he noticed a tall, dark figure emerge from his daughter's bedroom. Even if Taichi wanted to retreat into his room, he couldn't. His gaze was locked on the mysterious creature. It turned its neck at an unbelievable angle to face Taichi without moving his body. It was then that the man regained his ability to move. However, it was then that he panicked. He threw himself back into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"What was that thing?" Sora cried as Taichi pushed her and Manami into their bathroom.

"I don't know!" The man responded, clearly bewildered. "Stay here!"

The two sat in the corner of the tiny room, partially hidden behind cabinets. Taichi, on the other hand, was in clear view as he went to lock the bathroom door. Before he could get there, though, fog began to spill out from the cracks. Although his hand was on the doorknob, he couldn't bring himself to function; he couldn't lock the monster out. It thrust open the door, sending Taichi flying. He landed on the floor on the other side of the room, banging his head against the bath tub. His vision quickly became blurry, but he could clearly hear the shrill cries of Manami as she hid her face in Sora's shoulder.

"Go away!" He heard Sora scream. "Who are you?"

However, the monster didn't respond. He simply reached out his arm, as if he was going to grab something. Sora kicked her feet frantically, a desperate and useless attempt to keep the creature away. However, once he was close enough, he reached down and grabbed Manami by the arm.

"NO!" Taichi called as he bolted up. "Leave her alone!" He ran over to the large, black monster and began punching it with all his might. However, his blows had no effect. The creature didn't even seem to notice the man as he began to lift Manami into the air.

The little girl screamed hysterically, as did her mother. Sora stood and grabbed hold of Mana by her waist. "NO!" She called, "You're not getting her!"

Clearly irritated, the monster dropped both Manami and Sora onto the ground. However, instead of going for the little girl again, he picked the woman up by her waist. He wrapped his long, gruesome fingernails around her body and pulled her up to his face. She was so little, so insignificant compared to the monster's giant size. He could barely fit in the bathroom.

Sora kicked frantically as she rose higher and higher. "Taichi!" She called. However, she wasn't calling for him to help her. She pointed to the frightened child huddled in the corner.

"Sora!" Taichi called back as he ran around the monster to be nearer to his daughter. The little girl was crying as she watched Sora. The monster looked the woman straight in the eyes. His were a strange combination or orange and red. There were no pupils- just a blank stare. Sora glared back at him, she would not be weak. This just seemed to make the monster angrier, as he squeezed her in his grip. Sora cried out in agony as she dug her nails into one of the monster's large fingers.

Taichi stared up at his wife, desperately trying to figure out what he could do. His punches could do no harm. There seemed to be no human force that could stop the giant creature. Taichi's shoulders were quivering as he watched helplessly as his wife cried in pain. "No!" He called over again. "NO, no, no!" He was losing her.

"HEY!" Mana called, grabbing Taichi's attention. The girl grabbed a bar of soap from the counter to her and threw it up at the monster, hitting him directly in the eye. "Leave my mother alone!" Taichi froze. Did it work?

The monster began to sway back and forth, giving the impression that he was going to fall. Taichi's heart began to pound against the inside of his chest. He could feel the thumping in his throat. He looked back and forth from Mana, to Sora, to the monster. However, after a few moments, the creature shook his head.

"SHIT!" Taichi called. The monster hadn't been injured at all.

"Seismic throw!" Taichi heard the monster said monotonously and discretely. Suddenly, something clicked in the man's mind. A digimon? Was the monster a digimon? However, something else also connected. Seismic throw? "SORA!" Taichi called as the monster threw the woman to the other side of the room. She landed on the floor and didn't move afterwards. "SORA!" Taichi called again. He had the urge to run over to her, to pick her up and kiss her, somehow bringing her back to consciousness. However, he could do nothing but look at her. Mana's shrill screams were coming from behind him.

"DADDY!" She called, as the monster reached down for her once again.

"NO!" Taichi cried as he struggled to run over towards her. However, as the monster grabbed her, he began to rise, taking Manami off the ground with him. The force of its movement pushed Taichi back against the ground. Desperately, he reached up, trying to get a hold on Mana's hand as she reached down towards him.

"DADDY! HELP ME!" She called, lowering her arm as far as she could. Taichi grunted as he reached further. Heavy tears fell from her eyes, landing next to the man on the floor. A burst of pain shot through his shoulder as his hand moved closer to her. He could almost reach her… almost..

However, in an instant, the monster levitated out the window. In the blink of an eye, it was there, and then it wasn't.

"MANAMI!" Taichi cried, as he struggled to get up. The pace at which he tried to move caused him to fall on his stomach once more before he finally rose to his feet. He ran over to the window and looked out it. There was no sign of the monster, or his daughter. His breath shortened. His mind was racing, trying to process what had just happened. Mana was gone. What was he going to do? What was Sora.. Sora!

"Sora!" Taichi called as he spun around. The woman still lay on the ground, but she was coming to. A slight moan came from her mouth. It sounded like 'Mana', but Taichi couldn't be sure. He looked from his wife, to the window, and to his wife again. What the hell was he going to do? For the second time in his life, he felt helpless. When Sora was taken years ago in the digital world, there was hope. His friends were there to help him, Gennai was there with some confusing hint, but a hint none the less. Agumon, his friend- his best friend- was willing to do anything it took to get her back. However, now he was alone, and it had been his own fault. Eleven years ago, he gave up everything, and now he was paying for it. Tears streamed from his eyes as he struggled to think. What the hell was he going to do?

X

Sorry for the incredibly long wait guys! However, I hope this long chapter makes it up to you. Review and let me know what you think! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter, so it'd be great to get some feedback! Thanks!

Until next time,

*surflilu.


	5. The Start of an Adventure

Yamato threw open the door to his young sons room, only to find it empty.

"Toshio!" He called into the darkness, but there was no answer.

A layer of sweat blanketed his skin as he frantically stumbled over to the tiny bed. The man ruffled the sheets and ran his shaking hands over the top of the mattress. The tiny lump, Toshio, was not there. Yamato grasped the sheets in both his hands and squeezed them together, trying to control his breathing. His eyes bulged wide out of his head and threatened to explode. With his chest heaving up and down, he let out a stifled moan, and just barely caught a glisten of light out of the corner of his eye.

Quickly, he turned around to face Toshio's open window. Yamato had closed it earlier that day. What could have opened it? The man stood up straight and peered out the window as beads of sweat dripped from his forehead and around the creases of his eyes. Something was out there, Yamato was sure. For a moment, a pair of blue eyes were visible in the distant night sky.

"Daddy!"

"Toshio!" The man ran to the window, only stopping because his legs hit against the wall. "Toshio!"

However, his calls were unanswered. Had he imagined the voice that had pierced his ears just moments before? The voice that had sounded so desperate, so helpless? The man felt his knuckles crack against the wood of the windowsill, and he slowly backed away. His knees began to go weak, as his mind tried to function. He had just gotten him back, and now he was gone. Yamato fell to his knees. His veins grew cold and his stomach churned as the man prepared to vomit.

X

"It's busy!" Takeru called across the kitchen to his wife.

"It's busy? What do you mean it's busy!" Hikari called back. "Try again!"

"Hikari it's been busy for ten minutes!"

"TRY AGAIN!"

Takeru dropped the phone to the floor the moment his wife collapsed over the counter.

"Get up!" He begged once he reached her. He placed a warm palm on her mid-back and rubbed it in circles. "Hikari, get up."

The woman didn't respond to his touch. "They're gone… they're gone.." She muttered over and over into the cool tiles on the surface.

"Shh.." Takeru tried to calm her. He wrapped his arms around Hikari's quivering body and rested his head on her upper back. "Hikari, we'll get them back."

Takeru let a sigh of relief escape from his tightly closed lips as Hikari stood up to face him. She did not look him in the eyes, but at a spot somewhere over his left shoulder. "How do you know that?"

Takeru placed a hand gently on her chin and had her face him. He looked her in the eyes for a moment, and the coating of tears almost killed him. He swallowed hard, trying to get himself to believe his own thoughts. "Because we're digidestined." He told her, "And so are our children. We always find a way."

Hikari finally lifted her head off the counter, but still stared blankly straight ahead. "That was a digimon that came, I know it, I felt it." Her voice crackled.

To this, Takeru said nothing. He simply kept his hand against her back, rubbing it in small circles. He could feel the goose bumps on her clammy skin. He wanted to say something to make her better, but he did not know what. In his own mind, he had trouble convincing himself that everything would be alright.

X

"Taichi, I can't keep up with you!" Sora cried as she followed behind her husband.

Taichi stopped running for a moment and looked behind him. Once his wife got close enough, he grabbed her hand and continued running.

"Where are we going?" The woman panted.

"The harbor." Was all Taichi said.

The two ran hand in hand, struggling to keep up with each other, until they reached the water's edge. The water's edge was really the end of the road, so they looked down into the water, and up into the dark night sky. There were barely any stars out- the sky was covered with a thick fog.

"Taichi, why are we here?" Sora asked, looking pleadingly into the man's eyes. She gripped his hand tight as they stood at the edge of the road. She felt uneasy being so close to the side, and when she looked down she felt lightheaded.

Taichi stared straight up into the sky with his eyes squinted. He seemed to be scanning for something. "This is where we went back to the digital world after defeating Myotismon. There used to be a portal here, and the monster headed this way."

"Are you sure it's a digimon?" Sora asked, digging her nails into Taichi's skin.

Taichi took his eyes off the midnight sky and looked at his wife. Her eyes looked hardened and a bit glazed over. "It has to be." He said, clenching his fists. He pounded one into the other and grunted, causing Sora to let out a small gasp of surprise. "And I'm going to find it, and I'm going to destroy it!"

"Taichi!" Sora exclaimed, throwing her hands out from her sides. "If it is a digimon, how are we getting to the digital world? _Someone_ closed the gate, remember?"

With that said, Taichi stopped fuming, and he looked at his wife, hurt. His eyes sunk back into his face and his hands fell to his sides. From the look Sora gave him, he could tell she instantly regretted what she said, but it still shot through him like a bullet.

"I'm sorry." Sora said quickly. "I'm just on edge." She buried her heads in her hands and began to silently cry. Her fingers curled around her frizzy bedhead, and they shook lightly. Teardrops began to slither down her cheeks and drop onto her pajama shirt, which she had not had time to change out of.

Taichi felt his stomach drop at the sight of her. Deciding to let her comment go, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a warm hug. His skin against hers was a good replacement for the cool night air, and it helped her body to stop shaking a bit.

"We'll get her back." Taichi said, pushing his lips against the top of her head. He kissed her, and moved one of her hands to caress the back of her neck. "I promise."

"Hey!" Their moment was interrupted by a voice coming from the distance. Taichi and Sora loostened their grips on each other and looked towards the direction it came from. "Guys!" The voice continued.

Slowly, as their eyes adjusted the two could make out a figure running towards them.

"Daisuke!" Taichi called back once he had figured out who it was. He put his hand in the air and waved. It settled him down a bit seeing a friend, but had the same thing happened to him?

Once Daisuke reached the couple, he could easily tell Sora was crying. Her head was pushed into Taichi's shoulder, and one of his tanned arms was around her waist.

"It happened to you too, didn't it?" Daisuke asked, his voice cold and hard.

Taichi simply nodded, and Sora lifted her head.

Daisuke put his hands on his knees and leaned over, catching his breath a bit. "That digimon wa-"

"Digimon?" Taichi interrupted. "You think it's a digimon too?"

Daisuke looked to to meet the man's interrogating eyes. They were hard, with a glimmer of hope in them. "Yeah.." Daisuke said slowly. "What else would it have been?"

Taichi let his head fall back as a cool breeze swept across his clammy skin. Besides everything that had just happened, the night was peaceful. It was misleadingly peaceful. There were barely any clouds in the sky, and the moon sat low, giving off the illusion that it was bigger than it really was. It was a crescent shape, and while the lighted part was especially light, the area that was blocked from the sun was especially dark. Taichi squinted his eyes at it before he spoke again.

"And that's why you came here.." Taichi whispered, more to himself. It settled him down a little bit to know someone else thought the monster was a digimon. However, that also raised many impossible questions. "Daisuke, if it was a digimon, how do you think it got to our world?"

The younger man raised his brows and put a hand behind his head. "You're asking the wrong person about that."

"Perhaps we should call Koushirou.." Sora began. Suddenly though, her thoughts changed track. "My god, do you think this happened to Koushirou? And Hikari? And everyone else?" Her eyes widened and fresh tears formed at the thought of her friends suffering as she was.

"Hikari!" Taichi exclaimed quietly. His whisper was harsh, and his eyes jolted open.

Wiping the tears from her face, Sora pulled together her most sensible thoughts and spoke. "If that thing really was a digimon, we need to get everyone together _now_. You may be right, maybe we can get to the digiworld somehow, but we need everyone. If Manami and the other kids are in the digiworld, our digimon must know, and we have to believe they're protecting them until we can get there."

Taichi grumbled and shifted his balance on his feet.

"Yeah.." Daisuke continued, putting a firm hand on Taichi's shoulder. "Veemon's there, and Agumon's there. So is Biyomon! They won't let anything happen to anyone until we can get there and set things straight. Who knows, maybe our kids turned out to be like us when we were that age. Maybe they're at the start of some crazy adventure."

Taichi formed his hands into fists, but let a small smile appear on the left corner of his mouth. "Maybe so," he said, punching one of his fists into the palm of his other hand, "but let's get them back."

X

About an hour later, Taichi, Sora, and Davis were back at Koushirou's apartment, where they had been only hours before. Koushirou had agreed to have everyone gather at his place. As the three found out, each digidestined who had children had them stolen that night. Mostly, everyone's eyes remained on the ground, however, every once in a while, someone would gather the courage to look up and examine the pained faces. Many people looked at Ken. His arm was bandaged, and some dried blood had seeped through to the outside. Everyone wanted to ask him what had happened, but since they already knew he was definitely trying to fend off the monster, no one asked.

Jyou was the only person to not look worried for himself. If anyone looked around at the others, it was him. He took in their pain and tried to relate to it, but he couldn't help but feel as though he didn't completely understand. With each scared face he saw, his heart dropped a bit more in his chest.

Finally, Koushirou stood up, his laptop in hand. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were shaking. "M-most of us are here, so we might as well begin.."

Takeru looked to an empty spot on the couch. It would probably be where his brother would sit, if he decided to show up. The only other missing digidestined was Mimi, who of course, couldn't make it. It was still quite dark outside, but a small ring of light could be seen coming over the horizon. With each minute that passed, it grew, sending more golden sunshine over the grass. Takeru stared out the window and wondered how the day could go on when something so awful had happened. Hikari had her hand in his, and she moved her pointer finger back and forth across his palm.

"And where do we begin?" Ken asked, being careful not to move too much. Miyako, who sat next to him, didn't move either. She kept her hands in her lap and her eyes on the carpet.

The room remained silent for a few moments, but Taichi spoke up. He cleared his throat and straightened himself so he sat with his back flat against the back of the sofa. "We've got to get to the digital world."

"That's a little rash, isn't it Taichi?" Jyou asked from across the room. "How can you be sure these things were digimon? All the portals are closed, after all."

Taichi, against his will, became quite defensive. "Jyou, you didn't even see the monster!"

At this, Jyou bit his lip. He slumped back down in his seat and placed his hands on his knees. Tracing the designs on his shoes with his eyes, he waited for the conversation to start again- for someone else to take on Taichi's view. However, Daisuke spoke next.

"No, Taichi's right. It has to be a digimon. When Taichi and I met up near the harbor before, we both said we heard it mumble an attack. Giant monsters, the ability to talk, and specialized attacks all add up to a digimon to me."

"But what if we do find a way to go to the digital world?" Hikari asked, taking her eyes off the floor. "It's so dangerous now, and if our kids aren't there, there's no way we'll be able to save them."

"But what if they are?" Taichi asked, facing his sister. He completely understood what she was feeling. He'd grown up with her after all, and he knew exactly what to say. "This could be a sign. We might be able to not only save our kids, but do something for the digital world." He swallowed hard and prepared for what he was about to say. "Listen guys, if you all don't want to find a way to go, I'll understand. I'll go. I was the one who decided to close the digiport. I did it for all of us. I let Gennai close it.. I need to go. I need to set things straight. I know our kids are there, _I know it_. I'll go. I'll do this for all of us."

Taichi clenched his fists as he tried to hide the tears swelling in his eyes. He couldn't let everyone see him cry, not in a moment like this. He needed to hold the group together. After all, that was always his job.

The room remained silent for a little bit. Everyone was contemplating what Taichi had said, and no one really wanted to be the first to speak up. However, Koushirou soon broke the silence.

"I'll go with you, Taichi." He said, closing his laptop and standing up. He walked over to Taichi and put a firm hand on his shoulder. Koushirou was still a bit shorter than his friend, but he reached him easily, and their eyes almost met. Taichi smiled and nodded, putting his own hand out on Koushirou's shoulder. He squeezed it tightly, and pulled the boy into a great embrace.

"Thank you, Koushirou." He muttered.

After they released each other, they noticed that their friends began to stand up as well.

"I'll go with you too."

"And me!"

"Count me in!"

One by one, they all walked over, placing a hand on Taichi's shoulder. The man was almost weighed down by it, but he felt more support than anything else.

"Guys.." He started, almost letting the tears fall from his eyes.

But before he could finish, Koushirou interrupted him. "We'll get our kids back Taichi, together, no matter what."

"Alright." Taichi clenched his fists again, and the others backed away from him. "Koushirou, get your laptop. Everyone else, get your digivices. Let's meet at the harbor, and let's go to the digital world!" He threw a hand in the air and got everyone else excited, just as he used to. Suddenly though, a bright light blew out of Koushirou's closed laptop and knocked it off the couch, onto the floor.

"_DIGIDESTINED!"_ A voice cried, and the machine began to smoke.

*surflilu.


End file.
